Látrabjarg Cliff
Látrabjarg is a 14-kilometre sea cliff rising up to 441 metres on the westernmost tip of Iceland's Westfjords, and Europe's largest seabird cliff. Millions of seabirds nest here each summer including puffins, razorbills, guillemots, fulmars, and kittiwakes. The puffins at Látrabjarg are notably unafraid of people, making it one of the best places in Iceland to observe them at close range.
Millions of Nesting Seabirds on Iceland's Westernmost Sea Cliff
Látrabjarg stretches along the western edge of the Westfjords peninsula, a section of cliff that includes the point Bjargtangar, the westernmost point of Iceland and the westernmost lighthouse in Europe, built in 1948. The cliff system hosts around 10 species of seabird during the summer nesting season, with puffins and razorbills accounting for a large proportion of the estimated millions of individual birds present from mid-May through August. The puffins at Látrabjarg have limited exposure to predators on the steep cliff faces and are consequently significantly tamer than at most other Iceland puffin sites, allowing visitors to approach within a few metres without disturbing them. Razorbills nest in approximately 161,000 pairs here, and guillemots in around 226,000 pairs. The site is managed as a nature reserve.
A well-maintained trail runs along the cliff top from the car park at the end of Road 612. The trail can be walked for as long or as short as suits visitors, from a brief walk near the lighthouse to a longer route along the ridge. The cliffs are steep and unfenced in places and visitors should stay on the path and away from the edge, particularly as puffin burrows can create unstable ground near the cliff top. The lighthouse is a short walk from the car park. Nearby, on the road into the area, the wreck of the Garðar, a Norwegian-built whaling vessel from the early 1900s and one of Iceland's oldest steel ships, rests on the beach at Patreksfjördur. Two beaches, Rauðisandur with its distinctive red sand and the golden-sand Breiðavík, are also within a short drive.
Látrabjarg is remote even by Westfjords standards. The drive from Reykjavik takes around 6 hours, mostly on Route 60 then Route 62, with the final stretch on Road 612, parts of which are unpaved. There is no public transport to the cliffs. Fuel up at Flókalundur, the last petrol station before the end of the road. Accommodation options are extremely limited in the immediate area and booking well in advance is essential in summer. The puffin season runs from mid-May to late August; after that the birds return to sea for the winter.
